Noori live at EME, Rhythm For a Cause (Event Review)
by Saad Nasir
We Emenants are quite out-doing ourselves in these lat few days. I mean, changing the whole picture of EME and then presenting the mural is no child’s play, that I assure you. The night of 10th october , yet another reason for Emenants to prove that why they are the best in the business by successfully carrying out the much anticipated Noori’s Rhythm for a Cause.
As soon as I laid my eyes on the stage-to-be, I knew that we were in for something special. Decorated with flashing lights, illuminating a variety of colors accompanied by a little smoke-effect, the arena looked set to accommodate even the likes of Iron Maiden (I know it’s a bit far-fetched but why cease to dream eh?). The advertising poster, which we’ve all been seeing for quite some days now, proudly adorned the background scenery, proclaiming Rhythm for a Cause.
To avoid any embarrassing or awkward situations, the security team ensured that the opposite genders remain separated by a respectable boundary. Though some were heard complaining and whining, everyone agreed to and understood the general idea which came as a huge relief. When everyone had eventually settled down, signs for the show to come began to breeze in. Sound testing , guitar-riffing and an occasional drum beat, heightened the crowd’s expectations and soon enough the show kicked off with the finales of Solo Singing, which unfortunately failed to land any impact on the audience as they literally booed the poor souls out.
But the spectators began to show some appreciation when Air University’s LBC (emphasis on the ‘B’) took centre-stage and rocked out the audience with “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”. They were followed by SoS and Ehl-e-Rock who continued from where they had left off the night before i.e with gut punching drum and face-melting guitar solos, though thier vocal qualities need to be acknowledged as well.
And then, Finally, along came Noori, led by the Ali Bros. After yet another delay of 10-15 mins, Noori was finally ready to rhythm through the night. Screams and shouts came from all around the arena as Tum Hans Diye’s familiar tune was played. Through out the song, more singing was done by the crowd than the band itself and this fact was appreciated by Ali Noor who expects Noori’s crowd to engage with the band throughout the concert. Things heated up as Nishaan blasted through the limelight and head-bangings, rock-ons and oblivious dancing was seen all around (myself included). Crowd surfing is uncommon in Pakistani crowds but we pride on Air bhanggra as loyal friends picked one or two of thier lighter companions on their shoulders and danced from head to toe. If one had the chance to squint through the swinging, flashing lights and pause, it would seem that the world had gone in slow motion where you could see every movement, every expression, every thought.
Noori continued with their act by slowing things down a bit with Manware (one of my personal favorites). But the cherry on top, was Dil Ki Qasm sang in absolute epic circumstances. The lights were dimmed to nothing-ness, the only aurora, blazing from the cell phones and devices as such. It was a wonderful filling as each and every person swayed with the music and it felt, right there, that this was it, the moment, that we, the Emenants and all our guests from the twin cities would be cherishing for times to come.
